Transmission.



' E. SCHMITT.

TRANSMISSION.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3. 1917- 1,300,225. Patented Apr. 8,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I" E. SC-HMITT.

TRANSMISSION.

APPLICATION FILED APR 3. m7.

- Patented Apr. 8,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- y a. of Bridgeport, county of Fairfield,-

r iensifvr ssronfl T0 allwhomitmayconcern: l I Be it known that I; Enivronn SOHIMITT, a

citizen of the United States; and a resident,

of Connecticut, have inventedycertain new and useful Improvements in Transmissions,

of whiclithe following is a specification.

This invention relates to an impr otked is simple so that its operationis-assu-red, thei device furthermore; being disposed so'thats it is very compact and occupies butlittle spacewhere it its-used. v

The invention is adapted foruse in many different situations, for lnstance on automo biles, motor boa-ts andi means oi transportation, but it is particularly mde signed for automobile purposes; I

The invention. is designed to. proyidefa transmission of thiskind whichprevents the noise and rasping; due 'tothe changing of" gradual and not calculated to unduly strain the vehicle nor the transm ssion partthereofg,

table with respect to each 0ther; fand' also" comprises a means for compressing fluid; being employed as va fluid, the-compression I means being adapted to. becoperated byth'erotation of the members with respect to each other When the p'assage o-f air. from the air compressing means is 'stopped or duced, the a r compressing, means, because;

of the resistance of the, airyis prevented members against rotation with respecjttoj each other to a greater orlessileiiten t, 1 COI'ClIIIg tO ChG dGIISItX'OI" degree OlfJCOIIlpression of the air compressedby theair cessiie or; large openings ll for theadmission that; when; the deyic es are to give the 'vehicleconsiderable speed, or in other words} :as the speed of the-vehicle increases, due- .to the gradual lockinggtogether of-the clutch" members, the morement ojf'the piarts inside v the transmiss'l-onjis reduced; or lessened unea transmission that is posltmein its act on and ing means are; motionless; except sforbeingjg carried around in the transmission, which,- of coursaentailsnowearion them; The iii'ventionisfurthr designed to pro- ,11 videa'transmission;from whichltheh-air c'ani lj be" conducted, "to the mufller [of the gv hicle. gand thus asfs'is't inflprojecting throughll-theg gases. and the products of combustion from 1 the engine to, said-muffler,- and thus materila, allyreduce what little back pressure results from thetuse of-themufllen V V gears in the ordinary transmission on j vehicle, the device being,substantially,silent;

in its operation and being easily controlle d,{ the changes from onezispeedtoi another being,-

:til' finallywhen ,thedriyen and-driving; jmembersrotate in unison," the air compress I, The ,inyention is illustrated .in ,the 210-, j; i 'company-ing drawings;;in which; Figure l is a 'wertical"v section ',l'through the iimiproi ed transmission.'QEigQ Qis a section, ,the' 'left i l V hand side o-f'the figure heifig"taken ona line 1.2 in Fig. 1, and the right hand half beiiigj takenion the line 3 in Rig; 1. Fig. "35 is a diag" "ammatic fviewashjowing theattachment'; of'thedevice tojthelmuiflerr In the accompanyingdrawings I showoiie The for V embodiment'ot the inuenticmit being iinderj j }stood, of course that alterations canLbemade 5 tin the -structure, and the-- relationfand ai -52 .rangement of the 'parts 5 can bechangedv to: r "anf'extent without materially, 'afi'ecting-"the 9 0 5 scope of the invention v as 'set forth in the I 1 k illustratedlshows the 40 member consisting of fajshaft 10, ,which, tor

p compressing meansgand flowing therefrom the two rotate in.unison,'according tothe" extent to which the flow of. airthrough the discharge passage is restricted; l

The im'ention l f' f j esig ed 9 P 381 vide such type of transmlsslon which is ma the purpose" of; this description, is assumed to be continuously rotating in order; to? clearly descrihe the operation ofthe 'devicei- I The.- driyen memb'eirin, the formshownycon I 'sists of driven 'shaft 1.11011 which is'moluntq 5 1 ed a casing p1: frame jinto whichf o ertain mechanism isiinserted thatis made operative for 'connecting'the parts by reason of the-re- Z sistance to a flll id. --pressure compressing V .means andf which is Ina-dc inoperative "by the. removal of such resistance to v the" fluid;

compressing means. Inthe form shown the" great extent incl-osed, is free from any e casing consists of apart 12 having a hub 13 by means of which' it is fastened to :the l shaft 11, thekey 14 being one form of means for connecting these parts so thatthey will rotate in unison,,and the part 13 is also recessed so as to recelve-theprO ectmgend 15 of the shaft 10 so as'to insure the alinement of the shafts 10' and 11. The part l2,.is provided with a circumferential flange 16 which 'is thickened at separated points, in the drawingfour being shown, these points being bored to form the cylinders 17. On the face of the part 12 is a plate 18 fastened by suitable means, such as the bolts'19, the

plate 18. beingprovided with a projecting part or'flange20' with ribs 21 thereon, these ribs being in line with the ribs 22 of the part 12 so as to provide. bearings for the jack-shafts- 23, each jack-shaft being pro- Vided with a gear 24, each ear 24 being'in mesh with a gear 25 onthe criving shaft 10;

them are on their outward limit of move- 'ment, these' being diametrically"arranged, the other two being on'their inward limit of movement and being diametrically oppositely arranged and at right angles to the first mentioned cylinders, this arrangement el1'm1nat1ng,,as far as posslble, any vibration incidental to the rotation and reciprocation of these parts. The cylinders 17, along with the pistons, form air compressing means, the air being drawnin through suitable'valved inlets, in the drawing the inlet valves 32 being-illustrated, these valves be ing operated by a spring to normally hold themshut and assure their successful'closing when not under pressure, it being understood that any suitable form of valve can be used in this situation.

An outlet33 is provided in each cylinder,

the outlet having an outletv valve 34 which is also preferably spring operated under normal conditions, although under pressure thepressure itself holds-the valve-shut. The. outlet valve ofeach cylinder is'connected to a duct or channel 35 which can be provided f in a number'of ways, but in the form shown is due to theplate 18, being cored,.although the channel can be formed by placing groovedplates face to face. The channels 35 are all connected to a chamber 36, this air chamber being preferably annular sothat all'the aircompressing elements act to force air'int'o the chamber and hold itthus compressed when the outlet of the air chamber parts.

is closed or partly closed. This closure can be effected in a number of ways, the form shown comprising a collar 37 on a sliding regulating member 38 which, in the form shown, is in the shape of a disk. The outer endof the collar 37 closes the chamber 36 and can he slid forward inside of an opening 39 provided for the purpose within the plate 18, the plate 18 preferably having a flange 40-which extends over to engage the gear 25 or a collar thereof so as to keep the parts properly spaced. To release the pressure from the air chamber 36 the member 38 is moved forward and this causes openings or outlets to bepushed to Where the air from the chamber 36 can escape, and to make the gradual escape of this air possible, and to provide for a fine adjustment or control, these openings 41 are made V-shaped or tapered, as will be understood. The face 42 of the member 38 and the face43 of the part 20 are adapted to be brought into engagement to'act as a brake when: the outlet is opened to its fullest extent, the purpose of which will be described hereinafter.

To prevent the part 38 from turning, it is preferably mounted so that projections, such as the studs 44, slide in a suitable fixed member 45, which fixed member'canhave a depending part or a central portion forming a bearing for the shaft 10, as illustrated at 46. Suitable-means for moving the member 38 can be devised, the form shown comprising a lever 47 pivoted at 48 and having a part 49 that is provided with a handle, the lower part 50 being forked and then suitably connected to the member 38 to provide for the sliding of the member 38 when the lever 47 is swung either forward or backward.

The operation of the device is as follows. The lever49 is swung so that the'member 38 is near or against the member 20, and they preferably abut when swung to a neutral or inoperative position so that the member 20 is held against drifting or rotating slowly, due to any undue friction of the A suitable facing 51 is provided which sets up the proper friction and acts as a band or disk to hold the parts in frictional contact. When the parts are in this position the member 22 with the plate 18, which be tween them formthe casing, are at rest, and the shaft 11 therefore is also at rest. The shaft 10 is rotating, the shaft 10 being the shaft that is'connected to the"engine or other source of power. The pinion 25 rotates the gears 24, and these in turn, through their eccentrics 26, operate the pistons of the cylinders and air is pumped through the air assa es bein taken in throu h the res )ective inlets 32 and forced out through the outlets 33, passing down through the channels 35 into the chamber 36, and being adapted to pass out therefrom because the f slots 41;fare'in a positionitopermit themair passing out fromthe chamber 36, theseoute let passages being of sufficient: area tozper-j; mittheejair compressed by the compressing;- means, to flow from the chamber: 36;?dNhen however, the driven membe'ris to'be rotatedv p -with the driving. member, tand they are not Ito ;be rotated, relative to g each "other ,to as great an extent as rw-hen theiidriven 10 member is .at'rest, the controllingl 1neans,- r

which .in the .form shown is; the, collar 87, is movedtoward the left andyif-"nec -essary, to the point where theai'r is entirely shut ofi',w hich point is illustrated in the drawing in Fig. 1; 'When the air is c ed oii, in this way the compressed the passages andeinithe chamber 36' soon: causes suificient :back pressure. oil-the; air compressing means that the air coniipressinge; means cannot operate, and; in thi ease such i A back pressurewould stopi the reciprocationa I o'iir the pistons and thus in turn stopi therotation 0f the'shafts23, halt therotationof the i.

gears 24, and the pinion 25 thu's;.acting against locked gears, would turn the whole casing'22 and with it the shaft 11. l'nternne diate positions W111 permit graduahescapey to the desired extent, ofethe air, inthis way speed can be increasedandldecreased gradually, without shook duejto the change,- without noise to. anymaterlal extent and without undue wear'on the parts. ,Another advantage of this construction is that when the clutch members are "connected; so as to rotate in unison or nearly so, in other words,

i when the max imumof power is' being ap-s plied tothe driven shaft-from thef'd'rivi'ng shaft, the movin-giparts in thaaircoinprss- 7 ing meansv are substantially at a standstill, due to the locking of the parts causedgby the back pressure. It iwill'be evidentithat when the parts 'are' fmo'st, freely: operating that is, the parts that operate the, pistons are rotating due to the air outlets being lisub stantially open, the abutting faces 42'and 51 are nreterablyin contact so aseto prevent drifting? of the casing 22 and consequently of the shaft 11, thus'providing fora looking or positively secure holding; oflithe driven member in an inoperative po-sitionwhen; the

pressing means. k

It will be understood that this invention maximum'relief isigranted to the fluid i canbe utilized withdifierent for'msof fluid,

but I have illustrated piston and cylinder means adapted for the compressionofair as the fluid. I 1 ,V.

In Fig. 3 I illustrate, in a diagrammatic way, one of the particular advantages ofthis kind of transmissiomthis view showing how the air ejected or emitted from the. transmission can be conducted by means of a pipe '52 to the muflier 53 of the engine 54 and thus be utilized tov assist in forcing the products of combustion from theengine through the pressure an engine is subjected to by reason QftheJ-useofsuch muffler.-

H v e Having thus described my invention, 1

1;. In a transmission, a driving membe nae" rotated relatively "to eachio th'er, and means. J for controlling the; passage-of L compressed ainthroughsaidifloutletpassage;

2; -In@a,;,transmiss1on, a drlv lng plurality ofa-ir compressing meansbetween the members-am operable-f whenjthe nem e =-bers" fare relatively rotated af passage forcompressed air common to'all the members,

' and a single valve for controlling and pre ventingahe' passage of air; from the com o pressing means, vherebyihe members; are; 1 held against rotation relatively to ea cl'r95 other, v i,

3; A;transmission -coniprising a drivingw memben 'a drivenmember, air compressing: 7* means mounted on" the driven member,=.

meansqfor operating; the air compressing 0 means fromithe driving member when the membersare rotated relatively to each other,ig .meansmforj controlhng and preventing-1th;

passage of: compressed:air from the come} pressing means whereby said preventien act tolock the compressing means and causeth e 1 members ;to rotate iniunison',. andmeans cone nected with said controlling means for hold:

ing' "the driven member against rotation Y when the..con trolling means is movedto a 110, position; where the, compressed can, v ireely passfronr-the air compressing means.

' Afitransrnissioncomprisingea driving member, a driven lmembenya plurality s operating" means being mounted on the two members, and operated e by their rotation jrelativelygtojeach" other and one-of said A nemberszhav ng an air passage, and-aslngle 9 controlling means forming a all of said passageand adapted for regulating" the flow of fluidfthrough said passagen u 5. A transm ssion comprls ng a said shafts I are rojected, the :casifigi being fastened to-one of saidhshafts, an air con1-'- i pressing; means in the casing, means'f -for operat1ng;,sa1d compressing means, Send rmufiler and thus'relieving" whatevei'ab acl 5 L 'drivenfm'ember, said members being adapted to :be rotated h relatively to oneanother,.i a;

means; for compressing. fluid; meansfffor; 115. I operat ng said a compresslng means, said shaft, a driven shaft, a casing intowhich *1;

operating means being actuated when'the "1 j drive shaft rotates relatively to the driven shaft, 7 and: an annular shiftable member for regulating the flow. of compressed air: flOIll'SEtld compresslng meanst 6. A transmission comprising a driving member, a: driven member, said driven memberbeing provided with an air compressingmeans operated when said driving member: rotates relatively to the driven member and having'an inletpassage leading from theexternal atmosphere into said air compressing. means, an inwardly opening check valve insaidfinlet passage," an outlet passage leading from said compressing means to. the external atmosphere, andiani outwardly opening checkvalve inv said outletpassage, and: means for controlling the passage of .air from .the'compressing means whereby sa1d compressing means is provided with variable baclr pressure, whereby said compresslng operatlngvmeans is utillzed to .inlet passage, an outlet-passage leading from said compressing means tothe external atmosphere, and an outwardly openmg check valve in said outlet passage, and means for regulating the flow of air fromv the compressing: means to the external atmosphere. 8. A transmission comprlsing a drlvlng shaft, a dr1venshaft,.a plnlon on the driving shaft, a casing on the. driven shaft, a

gear' inthe, casing and in mesh with the pinion onthe driving shaft and adapted to be. rotated thereby when the driving shaft is rotated and the driven shaft is at a standstilL or rotated at a slower speed than the driving shaft, air compressing means oper ated'from the gear, the casing having an air passage through which: air from the compressing means-is conducted, a sliding member on said driving shaft and located within the passage, said sliding member having means thereon for preventing, permitting and regulating theflow of air from said passage. r v

9. A transmission comprising a driving shaft, a driven shaft, a pinion on the driving shaft, a casing on the driven shaft, a gear in the casing and in mesh With the pinion on the driving'shaft and adapted to be rotated thereby when the driving shaft is rotated and! the driven shaft is at a standstill or rotated: at a'slower speed than the driving-shaft, an air compressing means operated: from: the gear, the casing having: an

air passage with an outlet adjacent to said driving shaft, a slidin member on said driving shaft constructe to prevent, permit and to regulate the flow of air from the outlet of the passage, saidhsliding member being adapted to frictionally engage the casing when the outlet is opened to its full est extent, and means for preventing the rotation of said sliding member.

10.. A transmission comprisinga driving shaft, a driven shaft, a casing, a pinion on the driving shaft, a gear in the casin and in mesh With the pinion, the casingmeing provided: with a bore to form a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, means for reciprocating the cylinder fromsaid gear when the gear is rotated, an inlet valve in the cylinder, an outlet valve in the cylinder, the casing having a passage to conduct air from the outlet valve toa point adjacent to the driving shaft, a sliding member having a collar encircling the driving shaft, said collar having a solida cut-away portion, both of which portions portion and also having can be passed across the outlet of the passage according to the direction in which the sliding member is moved, means for holding the sliding member against rotation, and co-acting means on thesliding member and the casing to hold the casing against rotation when the sliding member is moved to fully open the outlet of the air assage.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereto set my hand this 2nd day of April,

EDMUND SGHMITT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

